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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. row — to paddle
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pit — in a race
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. key — the most important part
  7. sharp — clever
  8. snap — to click
  9. pit — a hole
  10. key — in music
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. last — finally
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. last — final
  20. key — for a lock
  21. capital — a city
  22. row — a line
  23. last — to go on
  24. capital — money

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