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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wound — an injury
  8. field — for sport
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. sharp — clever
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cue — a signal
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. cue — a hint
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. branch — a division
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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