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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rock — music
  3. deal — to handle
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rock — a stone
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. coach — a trainer

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