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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. season — of the year
  2. mark — a grade
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. season — in sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. mark — a trace
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. spell — letters
  22. foot — a measure
  23. fork — to eat with
  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