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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fork — in a road
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bulb — of a plant

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