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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. march — music
  3. club — for golf
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. stock — goods
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pit — a hole
  9. sharp — clever
  10. season — of the year
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. march — the month
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. club — a group
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mouse — for a computer

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