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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. date — the fruit
  3. last — to go on
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. last — finally
  10. capital — a city
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitch — completely
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bark — to shout
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — money
  18. last — final
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. plane — a tool
  23. mine — for digging
  24. capital — a big letter

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