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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 124 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cap — a lid
  5. sharp — clever
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. face — to confront
  14. cap — of ice
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. field — a subject
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — for sport
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — farmland

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