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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bear — the animal
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. row — a line
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. row — to paddle
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chair — a leader
  24. trunk — of a tree

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