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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lean — to bend
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — clever
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — to come down
  9. net — in sport
  10. march — music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. net — for catching
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — a permit
  16. snap — to click
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. land — ground
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. net — after costs
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. lean — thin

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