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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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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: date · tear · dip · sharp · race · kick · mine · patient

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. dip — to sink
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — to rip
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. sharp — clever
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kick — in football
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. date — the fruit

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