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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — after costs
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — the season
  6. net — for catching
  7. fall — to drop
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stem — to come from
  15. net — in sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — a container
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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