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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lean — to bend
  5. net — in sport
  6. march — the month
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. net — for catching
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. net — after costs
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. lean — thin
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. last — finally

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