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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cell — a phone
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. deal — to handle
  10. press — newspapers
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. clip — to cut
  14. sharp — clever
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — in biology
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. mine — for digging
  21. clip — a video
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. clip — for paper

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