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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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 — final
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. last — to go on
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. squash — to crush
  6. pop — music
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. squash — the sport
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pop — to visit
  12. face — to point toward
  13. capital — money
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pop — soda
  17. last — finally
  18. face — to confront
  19. march — music
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. march — the month
  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