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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · sharp · last · snap · stem · pitch · straw · march

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. board — a committee
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — finally
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitch — completely
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. board — to get on
  13. last — final
  14. march — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. last — to go on
  20. stem — to come from
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stem — a stem cell

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