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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — a gift
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wake — a trail
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. present — there
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pit — in a race
  14. sharp — clever
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. degree — temperature
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pit — a hole
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. saw — the tool

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