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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bass — low music
  3. squash — to crush
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — a city
  9. last — finally
  10. capital — money
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cell — a phone
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. last — to go on
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. fine — all right
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cell — in biology
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. squash — the sport

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