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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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. jam — in traffic
  3. band — a ring
  4. stand — to bear
  5. content — the amount
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. last — final
  9. content — happy
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. capital — a city
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. band — a music group
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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