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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — to go on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. kick — in football
  12. chair — a leader
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. last — final
  16. capital — a city
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. capital — money
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ruler — for measuring

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