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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. capital — a city
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — a box
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — clever
  16. last — final
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. last — finally
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — money
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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