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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. last — final
  3. scale — size or range
  4. last — to go on
  5. capital — money
  6. cue — a hint
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. scale — in music
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cue — for pool
  18. capital — a city
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. ground — a position
  22. cue — a signal
  23. last — finally
  24. craft — boats

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