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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. season — of the year
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — to go on
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. last — finally
  11. season — in sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. drill — a practice
  19. tube — a container
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. last — final
  24. stand — to bear

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