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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — a permit
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. capital — money
  7. last — finally
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. net — for catching
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. last — final
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mine — for digging
  18. capital — a city
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. net — after costs
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. net — in sport
  23. last — to go on
  24. prune — to trim

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