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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — a video
  3. bound — certain
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bound — tied together
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — a position
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a city
  24. bound — obliged

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