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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: fork · staff · sharp · arm · tube · bat · pit · row

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. staff — employees
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. fork — in a road
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pit — in a race
  7. staff — employees
  8. tube — a container
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pit — a hole
  20. staff — a stick
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — in an idiom

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