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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. capital — a city
  3. track — a song
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chair — a leader
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. track — to keep track
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mine — for digging
  15. track — a path
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — the tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. perch — the fish

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