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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rest — a break
  3. sharp — clever
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rest — what's left
  10. prune — to trim
  11. perch — the fish
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. hand — in cards
  15. prune — to trim
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — in sport
  18. hand — help

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