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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — a video
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. ground — a position
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — to confront
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — money
  18. sharp — clever
  19. ground — the earth
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ground — crushed

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