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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cue — a hint
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. sharp — clever
  14. file — a tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — money
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a document
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cue — for pool
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cue — a signal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rule — government

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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