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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. court — of a king
  3. capital — money
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. snap — to click
  6. rash — a series
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. date — the fruit
  12. capital — a city
  13. last — finally
  14. rash — hasty
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. court — of law
  17. mark — a trace
  18. last — final
  19. mark — a grade
  20. court — for sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. saw — the tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. last — to go on

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