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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pop — music
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — soda
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. board — to get on
  11. pop — to visit
  12. season — in sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. club — for dancing
  15. land — a country
  16. club — a group
  17. season — of the year
  18. land — to come down
  19. club — for golf
  20. board — a committee
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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