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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rest — a break
  6. mate — a partner
  7. game — wild animals
  8. can — to be able to
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a match
  15. branch — a division
  16. can — a tin
  17. bound — certain
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mate — a friend
  21. can — a tin
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rest — what's left

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