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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. row — a line
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. last — finally
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a leader
  19. spring — of water
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. capital — a city
  22. spring — the season
  23. fine — high quality
  24. spring — a coil

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