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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. firm — a company
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — money
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. firm — steady
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a city
  12. lean — to bend
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. march — the month
  18. last — final
  19. march — music
  20. spell — letters
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lean — thin
  23. present — there
  24. march — the month

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