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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stock — shares
  5. last — finally
  6. capital — a city
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. track — a song
  10. capital — money
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — to grow
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. bound — certain
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — to go on
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. capital — a big letter

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