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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — a grade
  5. capital — a city
  6. perch — the fish
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. sharp — clever
  12. capital — money
  13. land — to come down
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. land — ground
  16. club — for golf
  17. land — a country
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. club — a group

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