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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — the month
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. march — music
  13. field — a subject
  14. march — the month
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. field — for sport
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. sharp — exactly

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