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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. capital — money
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to click
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — to go on
  14. rule — government
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. capital — a city
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. last — finally
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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