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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spell — letters
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — a short time
  5. march — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mug — a face
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spell — magic
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rash — hasty
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. march — the month
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. coach — a trainer

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