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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. capital — a city
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bound — obliged
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bound — tied together
  10. present — a gift
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bound — certain
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. present — there
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — the season
  17. firm — a company
  18. capital — money
  19. firm — decided
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — the time now
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spring — of water

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