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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. branch — a division
  6. bore — to tire
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — a position
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bore — to drill
  19. capital — money
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — a city
  22. sharp — clever
  23. kick — in football
  24. temple — a place of worship

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