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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. swing — to play on
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — for catching
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — clever
  17. mark — a trace
  18. rush — hurry
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — in golf
  21. snap — to click
  22. mark — a grade
  23. capital — a city
  24. swing — music

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