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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. scale — in music
  8. sharp — clever
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bear — the animal
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — a position
  16. cap — of ice
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cap — a hat

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