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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. branch — a division
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — humankind
  13. net — after costs
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. race — a contest
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tear — from crying
  22. race — the arms race
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. branch — of a tree

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