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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bat — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mug — a face
  7. land — ground
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mug — a cup
  11. march — the month
  12. mug — to rob
  13. board — a committee
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — to come from
  18. land — a country
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. land — to come down
  22. board — to get on
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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