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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wind — moving air
  3. prune — to trim
  4. net — after costs
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. net — in sport
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. prune — to trim
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cell — in biology
  14. net — for catching
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pit — a hole
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pit — in a race
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cell — a phone

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