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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. sharp — clever
  4. capital — money
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. capital — a city
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chair — a leader
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. date — the fruit
  18. shower — rain
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. shower — to wash

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