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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. capital — money
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. file — a line of people
  13. last — to go on
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — final
  17. file — a document
  18. lean — to bend
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. last — finally
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pitcher — a jug

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