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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. bass — the fish
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. content — the amount
  8. capital — money
  9. bass — low music
  10. tube — a container
  11. last — finally
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. capital — a city
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. tube — the underground
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. content — happy
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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