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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — final
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. sharp — clever
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. capital — money
  11. lie — to recline
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. last — finally
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. last — to go on
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fork — in a road
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. capital — a city

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