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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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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — of water
  10. can — to be able to
  11. march — the month
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. spring — the season
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — music
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a document
  23. capital — a city
  24. sharp — clever

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