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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. board — to get on
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. swing — music
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. board — a committee
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cap — a lid
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cap — of ice
  15. swing — in golf
  16. capital — a city
  17. lie — to recline
  18. swing — to play on
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — temperature
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cap — a hat

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