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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a hat
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pound — a weight
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. cap — a lid
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cue — a signal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spell — letters
  21. cue — a hint
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — exactly

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