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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. fork — in a road
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mark — a grade
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mark — a trace
  16. present — there
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. present — the time now
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rash — a series
  24. present — a gift

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