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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pit — in a race
  3. last — to go on
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. last — final
  6. land — ground
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. capital — a city
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cue — a hint
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cue — a signal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. capital — money
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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