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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — to tease
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kid — child
  12. march — music
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. march — the month
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. capital — a city

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