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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — an amount
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. degree — from a university
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. dip — to sink
  13. capital — a city
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. swing — to play on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — clever
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wound — an injury

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