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

Word bank: prune · suit · sharp · kid · wind · mine · craft · chair

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. suit — to fit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. sharp — clever
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. suit — clothes
  12. wind — moving air
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — child
  19. wind — moving air
  20. craft — a skill
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — to tease
  23. suit — in cards
  24. craft — boats

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