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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. sharp — clever
  3. prune — to trim
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rash — a series
  7. net — in sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. field — farmland
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. field — for sport
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — a contest
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. net — after costs
  18. rash — hasty
  19. net — for catching
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. race — humankind
  23. bear — the animal
  24. field — a subject

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