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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: march · sharp · mouse · hide · jam · hand · field · chip

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. march — music
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — a subject
  14. march — the month
  15. chip — to eat
  16. field — farmland
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chip — for betting
  19. hand — help
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. march — the month
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — part of the body

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