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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: game · season · file · march · straw · suit · sharp · wake

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. suit — to fit
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. file — a tool
  6. march — the month
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. game — wild animals
  11. march — the month
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. suit — clothes
  15. season — of the year
  16. suit — in cards
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. file — a line of people
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. march — music
  21. file — a document
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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