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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. last — finally
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. last — to go on
  7. pitch — completely
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — final
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a city
  13. branch — a division
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. arm — a part of something
  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