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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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 city
  3. capital — money
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. face — to confront
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — finally
  8. perch — the fish
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. suit — in cards
  11. face — part of the head
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. shower — rain
  17. suit — clothes
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — final
  22. suit — to fit
  23. face — to point toward
  24. branch — of a bank

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