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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rash — hasty
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. march — music
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rash — a series
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. staff — employees
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. march — the month
  18. perch — the fish
  19. sharp — clever
  20. march — the month
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fork — in a road
  24. face — part of the head

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