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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. root — the cause
  4. last — to go on
  5. cap — of ice
  6. can — a tin
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. last — final
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. root — of a word
  13. file — a document
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — finally
  17. mine — for digging
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. file — a line of people
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. root — of a plant
  24. file — a tool

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