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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fine — high quality
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. squash — to crush
  8. sharp — clever
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to click
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of law
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fine — all right
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. prune — to trim
  21. court — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — music
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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