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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 124 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. shower — to wash
  3. can — a tin
  4. mark — a trace
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wound — an injury
  9. sharp — clever
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. shower — rain
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wound — an injury
  16. can — a tin
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mark — a grade
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. march — the month
  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