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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 120 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. sharp — clever
  6. game — a match
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. drill — the tool
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pit — a hole
  13. drill — a practice
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stem — to come from
  17. branch — a division
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. drill — army training
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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