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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. board — a committee
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. march — the month
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. scale — in music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. spell — magic
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. scale — size or range
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. sharp — clever
  21. march — music
  22. board — to get on
  23. branch — a division
  24. spell — letters

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