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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. ground — the earth
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. ground — a position
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. season — of the year
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. season — in sport
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — a city
  21. sharp — clever
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. ground — crushed
  24. saw — the tool

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