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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. capital — money
  4. mug — to rob
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mug — a face
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — to go on
  12. court — of a king
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mug — a cup
  15. capital — a city
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. last — finally
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tube — a container
  24. court — for sport

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