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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — low music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. sharp — clever

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