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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mate — to breed
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. capital — money
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mate — a partner
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. capital — a city
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — from crying
  19. swing — to play on
  20. sharp — clever
  21. mate — a friend
  22. swing — music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — to trim

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