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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. race — humankind
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. prune — to trim
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. land — ground
  11. sharp — clever
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. race — a contest
  14. scale — in music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mark — a trace
  18. prune — to trim
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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