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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. squash — the sport
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rule — government
  7. prune — to trim
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — an illness
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — low music
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rule — a law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bass — the fish
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mark — a trace
  24. prune — to trim

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