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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — in golf
  5. capital — money
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. ground — a position
  12. last — to go on
  13. key — for a lock
  14. last — finally
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bear — the animal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ground — the earth
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. capital — a city
  24. deal — to handle

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