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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mark — a trace
  3. capital — money
  4. mark — a grade
  5. firm — a company
  6. last — finally
  7. staff — a stick
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. last — to go on
  12. staff — employees
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. staff — employees
  15. capital — a city
  16. firm — decided
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. firm — steady

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