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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. content — happy
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mark — a grade
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bulb — for light
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. hand — help
  14. march — the month
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. march — music

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