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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — money
  5. cue — a hint
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — of water
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bound — tied together
  14. last — final
  15. cue — a signal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. sharp — clever
  18. march — music
  19. capital — a city
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spring — the season
  24. last — finally

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