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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — for catching
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lie — to recline
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. net — after costs
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. file — a line of people
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. net — in sport
  14. club — a group
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. file — a tool
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a document
  22. capital — a city
  23. rush — hurry
  24. capital — money

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