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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. march — music
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. firm — steady
  7. capital — money
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. firm — decided
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. firm — a company
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. capital — a city
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. last — finally

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