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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. march — music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. scale — in music
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bound — tied together
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — a break

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