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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. capital — money
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — a city
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. last — final
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. chest — a box
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. row — a line
  17. wound — an injury
  18. branch — a division
  19. chest — of your body
  20. last — finally
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pass — a permit
  24. last — to go on

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