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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: spring · lean · race · dip · straw · pit · row · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spring — a coil
  4. race — a contest
  5. row — a line
  6. sharp — clever
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. race — humankind
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spring — of water
  15. race — the arms race
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. lean — thin
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. dip — to sink
  23. spring — the season
  24. row — to paddle

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