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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. present — a gift
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — clever
  6. march — music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — finally
  9. wound — an injury
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — the month
  17. last — to go on
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. present — there
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bulb — for light
  22. present — the time now
  23. roll — a list
  24. bulb — for light

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