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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. capital — money
  3. prune — to trim
  4. last — finally
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. capital — a city
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — final
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — of water
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. perch — the fish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil

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