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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. object — to protest
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — an aim
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — of water
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stock — shares
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. object — a thing
  23. stock — goods
  24. trunk — of a car

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