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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. spring — of water
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fine — all right
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — money
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pit — a hole
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. spring — a coil
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spring — the season
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pit — in a race

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