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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. field — a subject
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bark — to shout
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. pitch — completely
  13. field — farmland
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. march — the month
  16. field — for sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. deal — to handle

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