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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. row — a line
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pit — a hole
  5. row — to paddle
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — final
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. last — finally
  10. key — in music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. key — for a lock
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. capital — money
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pit — in a race
  24. last — to go on

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