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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. last — to go on
  2. fork — in a road
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — to paddle
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. spell — magic
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. spell — a short time
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. band — a ring
  18. row — a line
  19. capital — a city
  20. last — final
  21. rash — a series
  22. capital — money
  23. fork — to eat with
  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