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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. ball — a dance
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — child
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — a trail
  10. drill — the tool
  11. board — to get on
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. drill — army training
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. march — the month
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. drill — a practice
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ball — a great time
  24. sharp — exactly

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