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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — to trim
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. swing — to play on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. swing — music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. swing — in golf
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. current — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. current — electric
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — with an edge

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