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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. fine — all right
  4. last — to go on
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chest — of your body
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. last — finally
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pit — a hole
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chest — a box
  13. firm — steady
  14. last — final
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. firm — a company
  20. pit — in a race
  21. firm — decided
  22. capital — money
  23. sharp — clever
  24. capital — a city

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