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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — a city
  4. last — final
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mug — to rob
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. last — finally
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — electric
  20. spring — the season
  21. mug — a face
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — of water
  24. club — for golf

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