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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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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: row · bay · march · ground · sharp · mouse · wound · bat

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. ground — the earth
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. march — music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. march — the month
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — clever
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. row — a quarrel

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