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

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  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. last — final
  2. capital — a city
  3. deal — to handle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. row — a line
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. foot — a measure
  9. capital — money
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pass — a permit
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. last — to go on
  17. pass — to spend time
  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