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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. club — a group
  7. rash — hasty
  8. field — farmland
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. club — for dancing
  11. season — of the year
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. season — in sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. field — for sport
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rash — a series
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. club — for golf
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. sharp — clever

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