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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 120 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 watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. capital — a city
  3. land — to come down
  4. file — a line of people
  5. land — a country
  6. last — final
  7. file — a document
  8. firm — decided
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. firm — a company
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. march — music
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. sharp — clever
  18. capital — money
  19. land — ground
  20. firm — steady
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. march — the month
  24. sharp — exactly

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