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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. cell — in biology
  4. shower — to wash
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — money
  10. game — a match
  11. last — to go on
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. shower — rain
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. swing — to play on
  22. last — final
  23. swing — music
  24. last — finally

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