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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — for digging
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — of the year
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. season — in sport
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. capital — a city
  13. root — the cause
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. kick — in football
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. capital — money
  19. root — of a plant
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — of a word
  24. mine — an explosive

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