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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rest — a break
  4. band — a ring
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. capital — a city
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. swing — music
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cap — a lid
  18. capital — money
  19. clip — a video
  20. cap — a hat
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cap — of ice
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rest — what's left

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