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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. fine — high quality
  2. shower — rain
  3. lie — to recline
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. content — happy
  6. shower — to wash
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. content — the amount
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. last — final
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — all right
  17. capital — money
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. degree — an amount
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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