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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — the month
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. hand — in cards
  6. spring — the season
  7. staff — a stick
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chip — for betting
  11. wake — a trail
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. spring — of water
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. sharp — clever
  18. staff — employees
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chip — to eat
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. staff — employees

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