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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. prune — the fruit
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. chip — for betting
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. snap — to click
  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