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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. march — music
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. row — to paddle
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. march — the month
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. row — a line
  21. snap — to click
  22. rush — hurry
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. march — the month

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