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

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rash — a series
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cell — a phone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. march — music
  13. rash — hasty
  14. shower — rain
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — clever
  18. shower — to wash

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