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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — to shout
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. object — a thing
  9. march — music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. object — an aim
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. march — the month
  20. object — to protest
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. mate — a friend
  24. march — the month

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