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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bear — the animal
  4. race — a contest
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. prune — to trim
  7. staff — a stick
  8. season — of the year
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. staff — employees
  13. sharp — clever
  14. race — humankind
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. spell — magic
  17. prune — to trim
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. spell — letters
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spell — a short time
  23. present — there
  24. season — in sport

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