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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bound — certain
  3. dip — to sink
  4. sharp — clever
  5. row — to paddle
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cell — a phone
  9. capital — money
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a line
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cell — in biology

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