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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. capital — a city
  3. date — the fruit
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. object — to protest
  6. last — final
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — of a word
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. last — to go on
  14. capital — money
  15. object — a thing
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. root — the cause
  21. last — finally
  22. hand — in cards
  23. toast — bread
  24. object — an aim

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