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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. track — a song
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rule — government
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. branch — a division
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rule — a law
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. track — a path

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