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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stock — shares
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a cup
  11. stock — goods
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. prune — to trim
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — a series
  19. bulb — for light
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rash — hasty
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. prune — the fruit

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