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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. stem — to come from
  5. prune — to trim
  6. sharp — clever
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. current — of water
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — a trail
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rush — hurry
  20. net — for catching
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. net — after costs
  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