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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. present — the time now
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. last — final
  5. stock — goods
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. present — a gift
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. present — there
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stock — shares
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rush — hurry
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  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