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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. field — a subject
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. field — farmland
  13. mine — for digging
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a song
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — for sport
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. prune — to trim
  24. track — a path

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