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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. hand — help
  3. rash — a series
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. scale — size or range
  8. sharp — clever
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. march — the month
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cue — a hint
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. snap — to click
  19. cue — for pool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. march — the month
  22. scale — in music
  23. rash — hasty
  24. march — music

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