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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mine — for digging
  5. march — music
  6. last — to go on
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. shower — rain
  12. dip — to sink
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. last — finally
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. last — final
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mine — belonging to me

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