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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a tool
  9. bound — certain
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — to trim
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. file — a document
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. swing — to play on
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. swing — in golf
  24. prune — to trim

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