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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. last — final
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — a city
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cue — a hint
  9. content — happy
  10. fine — high quality
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. content — the amount
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. capital — money
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cue — a signal
  21. mark — a trace
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cue — for pool
  24. last — finally

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