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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bank — for money
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — a subject
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bank — for money
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bank — of a river
  22. content — happy
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bat — for baseball

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