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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. land — to come down
  3. dip — to sink
  4. prune — to trim
  5. charge — electricity
  6. row — to paddle
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — ground
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — a country
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. charge — in control
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. sharp — clever
  17. row — a line
  18. fall — the season
  19. charge — a price
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mine — for digging
  24. dip — a sauce

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