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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tube — a container
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — finally
  5. firm — steady
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. last — final
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spell — letters
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. firm — decided
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. kid — child
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — a short time
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a city
  19. firm — a company
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. tube — the underground
  24. capital — money

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