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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. clip — to cut
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mug — a face
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. mate — a friend
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mug — to rob
  12. row — a line
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. row — to paddle
  17. sharp — clever
  18. staff — employees
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mate — a partner
  22. clip — a video
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mug — a cup

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