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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. season — of the year
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. season — in sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. capital — a city
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. file — a document
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. file — a tool
  18. mark — a grade
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mark — to pay attention

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