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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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Word bank
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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: staff · shower · plane · prune · race · ground · sharp · wound

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. staff — a stick
  5. ground — the earth
  6. prune — to trim
  7. sharp — clever
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. staff — employees
  10. wound — an injury
  11. prune — to trim
  12. plane — a tool
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. staff — employees
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. shower — to wash
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. race — the arms race
  24. shower — rain

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