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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. capital — money
  2. roll — a cake
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bound — obliged
  5. tear — to rip
  6. last — finally
  7. ground — the earth
  8. last — to go on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — certain
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a city
  14. bound — tied together
  15. rash — a series
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. last — final
  20. roll — a list
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. ground — a position
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — to trim

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