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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 124 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. staff — a stick
  3. swing — to play on
  4. capital — money
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. swing — in golf
  7. march — music
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — music
  13. spell — magic
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. staff — employees
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. spell — letters
  18. capital — a city
  19. kick — in football
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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