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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — the amount
  4. last — to go on
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — money
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — a city
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lie — to recline
  15. last — finally
  16. kick — in football
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — to come down
  20. content — happy
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. kick — with a leg

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