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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — a path
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. track — a song
  6. mine — for digging
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. march — music
  12. net — for catching
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hide — to keep secret

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