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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. prune — to trim
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — shares
  10. hand — help
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. sharp — clever
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. snap — to click
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stock — goods
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hand — in cards

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