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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. last — final
  3. toast — bread
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. date — the fruit
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. key — in music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. key — for a lock
  22. last — finally
  23. date — on the calendar
  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