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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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. file — a document
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fall — the season
  7. file — a tool
  8. court — of law
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. court — of a king
  13. file — a line of people
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stock — goods
  16. kid — child
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — for sport
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. saw — the tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — to tease

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