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

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — final
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally

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