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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. roll — a list
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. last — to go on
  6. roll — a cake
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — a city
  11. saw — the tool
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. row — to paddle
  16. toast — bread
  17. last — final
  18. snap — to click
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. capital — money
  24. toast — the most admired

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