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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cap — a lid
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — the month
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mine — for digging
  21. march — the month
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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