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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. track — a song
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lean — thin
  5. march — the month
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. present — the time now
  9. march — the month
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rock — music
  13. march — music
  14. pound — a weight
  15. track — to keep track
  16. lean — to bend
  17. present — there
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — a path
  20. chest — a box
  21. present — a gift
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. sharp — exactly

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