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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stock — goods
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — clever
  6. march — the month
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. swing — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. swing — to play on
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. stock — shares
  20. swing — in golf
  21. cue — a signal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — not warm
  24. march — music

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