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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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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: kick · pitch · wound · key · sharp · stick · capital · tear

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. tear — from crying
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pitch — completely
  13. kick — in football
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. sharp — with an edge

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