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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 116 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. march — the month
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. file — a document
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kick — in football
  7. scale — in music
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. scale — size or range
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mug — a face
  13. march — the month
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. march — music
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. file — a tool
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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