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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. last — to go on
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — letters
  7. last — finally
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. land — a country
  10. spell — a short time
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — magic
  15. rock — music
  16. march — the month
  17. land — to come down
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. last — final
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. land — ground
  22. rock — a stone
  23. capital — money
  24. ruler — a monarch

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