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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a match
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. roll — a list
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. sharp — clever
  13. roll — a cake
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. clip — for paper
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. game — a kind of play

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