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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. last — final
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. last — finally
  6. cue — a signal
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. capital — money
  9. cue — for pool
  10. land — a country
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a city
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cue — a hint
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. branch — a division

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