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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pit — in a race
  5. sharp — clever
  6. snap — to click
  7. march — the month
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. field — a subject
  10. march — music
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — farmland
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. object — an aim
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pit — a hole

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