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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. capital — a city
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. board — a committee
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tube — a container
  13. board — to get on
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. spring — of water
  16. sharp — clever
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — in a road
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lean — thin
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. capital — money

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