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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. track — a path
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chest — of your body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. prune — to trim
  11. staff — employees
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chest — a box
  14. track — to keep track
  15. face — to confront
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. track — a song
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chest — of your body
  24. prune — the fruit

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