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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 124 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wound — an injury
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. shower — to wash
  7. season — in sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — of the year
  12. shower — rain
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wind — to turn a key

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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