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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a leader
  5. land — to come down
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. land — a country
  8. present — there
  9. last — to go on
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. capital — money
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — a short time
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. present — a gift
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. land — ground
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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