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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cell — a phone
  4. firm — a company
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — money
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. sharp — clever
  9. race — a contest
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. firm — steady
  12. race — humankind
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. capital — a city
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — to grow
  20. firm — decided
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a partner
  24. race — the arms race

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