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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · lie · march · capital · arm · scale

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — money
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lie — to recline
  8. sharp — clever
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. scale — size or range
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — in music
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. march — music
  18. lie — an untruth

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