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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. sharp — clever
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — of a word
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. root — the cause
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. face — to confront
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. drill — army training
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. sharp — with an edge

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