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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. shower — to wash
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rule — a law
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rule — government
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ball — a great time
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — rain
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chest — of your body
  21. capital — a city
  22. ball — a dance
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. capital — money

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