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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. file — a tool
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — a city
  6. content — the amount
  7. file — a document
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. capital — money
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bound — obliged
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. file — a line of people
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bound — certain
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. content — happy

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