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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. foot — a measure
  3. sharp — clever
  4. file — a document
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a leader
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. file — a tool
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. board — a committee
  18. season — in sport
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. board — to get on
  23. march — the month
  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