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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. net — in sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — after costs
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. row — a line
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. capital — a city
  12. mark — a trace
  13. foot — a measure
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. capital — money
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. sharp — clever
  23. net — for catching
  24. date — the fruit

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