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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — money
  4. present — the time now
  5. fine — all right
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. sharp — clever
  9. present — there
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wind — moving air
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. capital — a city
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wind — moving air
  21. present — a gift
  22. dip — to sink
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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