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

Word bank: deal · capital · saw · object · roll · shower · club · sharp

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. object — an aim
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — a group
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. object — a thing
  9. roll — a cake
  10. sharp — clever
  11. object — to protest
  12. roll — a list
  13. club — for golf
  14. saw — the tool
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. capital — money
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. club — for dancing
  24. saw — the tool

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