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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. object — a thing
  3. swing — music
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. last — final
  6. capital — a city
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — money
  10. pass — a permit
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. swing — to play on
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. last — to go on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. row — a line

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