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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. object — a thing
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a line
  5. last — final
  6. root — the cause
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cue — a hint
  12. last — finally
  13. object — to protest
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. object — an aim
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. last — to go on
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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