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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. season — of the year
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tube — a container
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — a short time
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tear — to rip
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — magic
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — letters

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