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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. sharp — clever
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. craft — boats
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — money
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. scale — for weighing

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