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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. face — to point toward
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — a city
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. sharp — clever
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. ground — a position
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. face — to confront
  18. sharp — with an edge

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