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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rush — hurry
  3. firm — steady
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. sharp — clever
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. row — a line
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. firm — decided
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ground — crushed
  21. firm — a company
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — a position

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