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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — money
  3. last — final
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — to go on
  8. board — to get on
  9. last — finally
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. capital — a city
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. sharp — clever
  14. board — a committee
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mug — a face
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mug — to rob
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pitch — completely

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