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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: content · capital · staff · mouse · field · prune · sharp · jam

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. staff — employees
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. staff — employees
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. capital — a city
  10. field — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — money
  16. field — a subject
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. staff — a stick
  21. field — farmland
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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