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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. staff — a stick
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — a break
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. staff — employees
  16. date — the fruit
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rest — what's left
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bark — to shout

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