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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. can — to be able to
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cell — a phone
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. capital — money

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