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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. wound — an injury
  6. march — music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. rush — hurry
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. land — a country
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. shower — to wash
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. march — the month

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