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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. sharp — clever
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. face — to confront
  10. bank — for money
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bass — the fish
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. craft — boats
  18. bass — low music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bank — for money
  23. face — part of the head
  24. craft — a skill

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