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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. capital — money
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. staff — employees
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. scale — size or range
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. staff — employees
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. scale — in music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. present — there
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — a gift

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