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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wake — a trail
  3. march — the month
  4. last — to go on
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. clip — a video
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. march — music
  13. cap — of ice
  14. last — finally
  15. cap — a hat
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. clip — for paper
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — a lid
  22. dip — to sink
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. last — final

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