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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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pop — to visit
  3. capital — a city
  4. face — to confront
  5. capital — money
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pop — soda
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pop — music
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. face — part of the head
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. face — to point toward
  23. rest — a break
  24. tube — a container

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