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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. last — finally
  4. present — a gift
  5. capital — a city
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. last — to go on
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. last — final
  15. squash — to crush
  16. capital — money
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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