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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. row — a line
  3. capital — money
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spell — magic
  6. cue — for pool
  7. capital — a city
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. last — to go on
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. cue — a hint
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. last — final
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. last — finally
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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