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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. file — a document
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. capital — money
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. capital — a city
  21. content — happy
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. sharp — clever
  24. content — the amount

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