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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 120 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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. swing — in golf
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a city
  7. hand — help
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — of law
  17. capital — money
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bound — certain

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