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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bore — to tire
  8. snap — to click
  9. fall — the season
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. face — to confront
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. capital — money
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. sharp — clever
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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