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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cell — in biology
  3. march — the month
  4. mug — a face
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. club — for golf
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. face — to confront
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mug — to rob
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mug — a cup
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pound — a weight
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing
  19. march — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. face — to point toward
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. face — part of the head

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