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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — to fit
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. capital — money
  11. suit — in cards
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. dip — to sink
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — final
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. last — finally
  23. dip — a sauce
  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