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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. last — final
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. snap — to click
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. last — finally
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pound — a weight
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. deal — to handle
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chair — a leader
  24. deal — an agreement

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