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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. capital — money
  3. plane — a tool
  4. stock — goods
  5. last — to go on
  6. stock — shares
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. lean — thin
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kick — in football
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. last — finally
  20. capital — a city
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stand — to bear

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