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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mark — a trace
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — the animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — a group
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. mark — a grade
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. pitcher — a jug

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