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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a city
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. plane — a tool
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. can — a tin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rash — hasty
  19. sharp — clever
  20. clip — a video
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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