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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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. bound — tied together
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bound — obliged
  9. capital — money
  10. last — finally
  11. rock — a stone
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. bound — certain
  15. spring — of water
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. spring — the season
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mouse — the animal
  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