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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — after costs
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. suit — clothes
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. net — in sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. net — for catching
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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