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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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468
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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. lie — to recline
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. capital — a city
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cell — a phone
  14. snap — to click
  15. fine — all right
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. perch — the fish
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. sharp — clever
  23. lie — an untruth
  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