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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. track — a path
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rule — government
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. last — final
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — to handle
  11. last — to go on
  12. capital — money
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rule — a law
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. last — finally
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. track — a song
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. track — to keep track

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