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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a word
  9. present — there
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. root — the cause
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. root — of a plant
  19. tear — to rip
  20. present — a gift
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rush — a thrill

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