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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pop — soda
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pop — music
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pop — to visit
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. face — to confront
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wake — before a funeral

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