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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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Word bank
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. sharp — clever
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — happy
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. prune — to trim
  20. content — the amount
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fine — all right

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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