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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — money
  8. stem — to come from
  9. capital — a city
  10. board — a committee
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. board — to get on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. kid — child
  17. press — to push
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. last — finally
  20. bass — low music
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bear — the animal
  23. press — a publisher
  24. stem — a stem cell

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