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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — for sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. capital — money
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bound — certain
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bear — the animal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bear — the animal

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