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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 120 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stock — shares
  3. spell — magic
  4. prune — to trim
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stock — goods
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mug — a cup
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mark — a trace
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mug — a face
  18. spell — letters
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  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