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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · sharp · wind · kid · wound · press · object · root

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. object — an aim
  3. root — the cause
  4. object — a thing
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. object — to protest
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — to trim
  15. press — a publisher
  16. sharp — clever
  17. press — to push
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. press — newspapers
  24. root — of a word

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