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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a document
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. club — a group
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rock — music
  13. club — for golf
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. ground — a position
  19. file — a tool
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — a city

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