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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. capital — a city
  4. last — final
  5. capital — money
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pit — in a race
  9. rest — a break
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. face — to confront
  13. bark — to shout
  14. clip — a video
  15. rest — what's left
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. clip — to cut
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pit — a hole
  24. clip — for paper

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