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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — money
  3. track — a path
  4. race — the arms race
  5. last — finally
  6. land — ground
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. race — a contest
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. race — humankind
  12. track — to keep track
  13. land — to come down
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. season — in sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. land — a country
  21. season — of the year
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. track — a song
  24. capital — a city

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