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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pound — a weight
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — a match
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cold — not warm
  23. hide — animal skin
  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