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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. charge — electricity
  10. sharp — clever
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to click
  13. charge — in control
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. march — music
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. net — for catching
  19. charge — a price
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. track — to keep track
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. date — the fruit
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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