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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. sharp — clever
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. shower — rain
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ground — a position
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. ground — the earth
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chair — a leader
  24. trunk — of a tree

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