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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. march — the month
  5. fine — all right
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — money
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — final
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. rock — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cold — not warm
  18. last — finally
  19. march — music
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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