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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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 big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — the fish
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — a city
  10. staff — employees
  11. object — to protest
  12. capital — money
  13. cold — an illness
  14. land — ground
  15. last — finally
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. object — an aim
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. staff — employees
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. last — final

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