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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: rush · shower · wake · sharp · plane · mark · last · capital

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — money
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — finally
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. shower — rain
  9. mark — a trace
  10. shower — to wash
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. last — to go on
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — a city
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. last — final
  23. plane — a tool
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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