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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — clever
  14. saw — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rush — hurry
  20. capital — a city
  21. rest — a break
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. capital — money

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