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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spell — magic
  3. fork — in a road
  4. spell — letters
  5. pop — music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. capital — money
  10. shower — to wash
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — soda
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pop — to visit
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bulb — for light

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