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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. kid — to tease
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spell — a short time
  9. file — a tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. file — a document
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — to play on
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. kid — child
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cue — a signal
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com