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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. march — the month
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wound — an injury
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — music
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — money
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. snap — to click
  24. rush — a thrill

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