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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. lean — thin
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — a match
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. land — to come down
  8. current — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. sharp — clever
  11. game — wild animals
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lean — to bend
  14. capital — a city
  15. land — ground
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — a country
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. current — happening now
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. current — electric

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