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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — shares
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — goods
  9. last — to go on
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. chest — a box
  12. last — finally
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — a practice
  15. capital — a city
  16. spell — letters
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spell — magic
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. capital — money

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