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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 124 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. last — to go on
  3. object — an aim
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — final
  6. root — the cause
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — of a word
  9. last — finally
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. object — to protest
  13. rush — hurry
  14. date — the fruit
  15. root — of a plant
  16. object — a thing
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city

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