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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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. game — a match
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cap — a lid
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. net — after costs
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. file — a line of people
  15. net — for catching
  16. file — a document
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fine — all right
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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