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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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. last — final
  5. kid — child
  6. last — to go on
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — money
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rock — a stone
  12. last — finally
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. season — in sport
  15. capital — a city
  16. vault — a safe
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. kid — to tease
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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