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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — bread
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. clip — a video
  9. firm — decided
  10. saw — the tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. firm — a company
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. clip — to cut
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — a line
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. row — to paddle
  22. firm — steady
  23. sharp — clever
  24. row — a quarrel

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