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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. object — to protest
  3. can — to be able to
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — moving air
  10. present — the time now
  11. saw — the tool
  12. object — a thing
  13. can — a tin
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. present — a gift
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — clever
  24. present — there

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