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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wind — moving air
  7. perch — the fish
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. capital — money
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rash — a series
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. toast — bread
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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