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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. prune — to trim
  4. staff — employees
  5. capital — money
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — a city
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. snap — to click
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. hand — help
  18. bank — for money
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bank — of a river
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bank — for money
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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