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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stock — goods
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rest — what's left
  8. lean — thin
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rest — a break
  18. prune — to trim
  19. file — a document
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stock — shares
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mine — belonging to me

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