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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. wind — moving air
  10. board — a committee
  11. pop — to visit
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pop — soda
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. board — to get on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pop — music
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. stem — to come from
  24. capital — a city

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