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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. ground — the earth
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pop — to visit
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. pop — soda
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pop — music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — a position
  20. plane — a tool
  21. ground — crushed
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mate — to breed

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