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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chair — a leader
  3. march — music
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mate — a partner
  7. march — the month
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. firm — a company
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hide — to keep secret

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