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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. swing — music
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. firm — decided
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — a line
  16. last — final
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. row — to paddle
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — finally
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — a company

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