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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. shower — rain
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. game — a match
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — to wash
  12. net — in sport
  13. stock — shares
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. net — after costs
  17. perch — the fish
  18. net — for catching
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. charge — a price
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. perch — for a bird

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