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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. roll — a list
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. rule — government
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lean — thin
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. capital — money
  15. present — a gift
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. present — there
  18. lean — to bend
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rule — a law
  21. present — the time now
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wind — moving air
  24. sharp — exactly

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