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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. track — a path
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. mate — to breed
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — a partner
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pit — a hole
  13. snap — to click
  14. last — finally
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mate — a friend
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — for pool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. track — a song
  24. cue — a signal

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