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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — humankind
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rash — a series
  14. current — electric
  15. sharp — clever
  16. race — a contest
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. race — the arms race
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. content — the amount
  24. prune — to trim

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