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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. saw — the tool
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. cap — a hat
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to click
  15. cap — of ice
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — money
  20. cap — a lid
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. last — finally

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