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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. last — to go on
  3. dip — to sink
  4. saw — the tool
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. sharp — clever
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. capital — money
  12. prune — to trim
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. capital — a city
  23. last — finally
  24. scale — for weighing

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