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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: toast · sharp · bowl · prune · lie · rule · tear · coach

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lie — to recline
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — clever
  16. toast — bread
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. rule — government
  24. toast — the most admired

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