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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stock — shares
  4. prune — to trim
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. prune — to trim
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — goods
  11. file — a document
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. plane — a tool
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. stock — a soup base

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