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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. prune — to trim
  4. object — to protest
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. object — a thing
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fine — high quality
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lean — thin
  15. club — a group
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — all right
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lean — to bend
  21. object — an aim
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. sharp — clever

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