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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. field — farmland
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. last — to go on
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mug — a cup
  13. last — finally
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. march — the month
  19. last — final
  20. march — music
  21. mug — to rob
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. sharp — exactly

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