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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. capital — a city
  12. lean — thin
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lean — to bend
  17. sharp — clever
  18. present — there
  19. capital — money
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. present — the time now
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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