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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stock — shares
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stock — goods
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rash — a series
  18. net — for catching

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