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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. firm — steady
  4. snap — to click
  5. firm — decided
  6. march — the month
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. march — music
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — clever
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — the animal
  17. firm — a company
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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