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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. march — the month
  3. land — a country
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rest — what's left
  8. land — ground
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rest — a break
  15. march — music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bark — to shout
  20. degree — an amount
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — from a university
  23. march — the month
  24. calf — a young animal

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