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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — a practice
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — a city
  10. last — final
  11. mug — a cup
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mug — a face
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — the tool
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. last — finally
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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