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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spring — the season
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pound — a weight
  7. can — a tin
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. can — a tin
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. sharp — clever
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. spring — of water
  14. can — to be able to
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. kid — to tease
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. kid — child
  22. spring — a coil
  23. shower — rain
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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