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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. roll — a cake
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. roll — a list
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — for catching
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — a lid
  13. net — after costs
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — to get on
  17. net — in sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. board — a committee
  20. mark — a trace
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cap — of ice
  24. prune — to trim

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