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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — to go on
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rash — a series
  9. fall — the season
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. capital — money
  20. root — the cause
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. fork — a garden tool

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