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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. capital — a city
  3. file — a document
  4. scale — size or range
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — money
  10. scale — in music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. file — a line of people
  16. sharp — clever
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. board — a committee
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. rock — a stone
  23. board — to get on
  24. file — a tool

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