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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hand — help
  9. root — of a word
  10. sharp — clever
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stand — to bear
  13. rash — a series
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. capital — a city
  16. prune — to trim
  17. deal — to handle
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. root — the cause
  23. capital — money
  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