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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — certain
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. file — a tool
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. capital — a city
  7. file — a document
  8. bound — tied together
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cap — a hat
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cap — a lid
  14. capital — money
  15. fine — high quality
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. fine — all right
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wave — with your hand

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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