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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mark — a trace
  3. firm — steady
  4. pit — a hole
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pit — in a race
  8. firm — a company
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. shower — rain
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mark — a grade
  14. sharp — clever
  15. capital — money
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — a city
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. firm — decided

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