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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. capital — a city
  3. pass — a permit
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. last — to go on
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — a match
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. foot — a measure
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cold — an illness
  22. last — final
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bulb — of a plant

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