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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. spell — a short time
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. kid — child
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. kid — to tease
  13. club — a group
  14. capital — a city
  15. mate — a friend
  16. club — for dancing
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. club — for golf
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. capital — money
  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