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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. capital — money
  7. spell — letters
  8. court — of a king
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. sharp — clever
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. chest — a box
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chest — of your body
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mark — to pay attention

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