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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bound — tied together
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bound — certain
  6. last — to go on
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — finally
  10. rash — a series
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. capital — a city
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — final
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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