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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — the month
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. march — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — the month
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a music group

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