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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rash — hasty
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. object — a thing
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — in golf
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. swing — to play on
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lie — to recline
  15. dip — to sink
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. swing — music
  21. object — an aim
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rash — a series
  24. object — to protest

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