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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. face — to confront
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a document
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bass — low music
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. craft — boats
  11. sharp — clever
  12. object — a thing
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. object — to protest
  15. file — a line of people
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. object — an aim
  19. file — a tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. craft — a skill
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bass — the fish
  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