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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. object — to protest
  7. capital — money
  8. sharp — clever
  9. squash — the sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. prune — to trim
  12. object — an aim
  13. plane — a tool
  14. object — a thing
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. plane — an aircraft

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