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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 120 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: rock · sharp · foot · game · capital · kid · lean · cabinet

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. game — a match
  4. capital — money
  5. rock — music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. capital — a city
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — child
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rock — a stone
  24. foot — a measure

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