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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ground — the earth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — final
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. capital — money
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ground — a position
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. last — finally
  19. root — the cause
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wound — an injury
  22. capital — a city
  23. tear — to rip
  24. deal — to handle

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