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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. capital — money
  5. bass — low music
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bass — the fish
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. tube — the underground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — in a road
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. last — finally

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