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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rest — a break
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mug — a cup
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mug — a face
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — completely
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a city
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. march — music
  24. wax — to grow

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