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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. march — the month
  3. degree — an amount
  4. march — music
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bore — to tire
  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