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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. ground — the earth
  3. swing — music
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ground — a position
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — a video
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. spell — a short time
  16. capital — a city
  17. lie — to recline
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — to play on
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. sharp — clever

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