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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — crushed
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. sharp — clever
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. last — finally
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kick — in football
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. current — of water
  20. ground — a position
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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