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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. march — music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bass — low music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bass — the fish
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. march — the month
  18. pitch — completely
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — clever
  21. snap — to click
  22. current — electric
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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