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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rock — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — music
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. firm — steady
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chest — a box

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