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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — the season
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bark — to shout
  6. spring — a coil
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rest — a break
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pit — a hole
  11. march — music
  12. spring — of water
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. swing — music
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bark — of a tree

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