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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. net — for catching
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rush — hurry
  17. net — after costs
  18. craft — a skill
  19. net — in sport
  20. stem — to come from
  21. mine — for digging
  22. craft — boats
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stem — a stem cell

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