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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. last — to go on
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. last — finally
  5. march — the month
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. content — happy
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. sharp — clever
  15. content — the amount
  16. march — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. last — final
  20. season — in sport
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. march — the month
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. season — of the year

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