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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — clever
  3. capital — money
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. last — finally
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. stock — goods
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stock — shares
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chair — a leader
  18. capital — a city
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bear — the animal
  24. last — to go on

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