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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — to go on
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — final
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. prune — to trim
  11. capital — a city
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — money
  16. last — finally
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cue — a hint
  19. land — ground
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cue — a signal
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cue — for pool
  24. sharp — exactly

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