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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. capital — a city
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — farmland
  7. last — final
  8. prune — to trim
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. capital — money
  12. mug — a face
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. board — to get on
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mug — a cup
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. board — a committee
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mug — to rob
  24. last — to go on

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