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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. present — the time now
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. last — finally
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pop — soda
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. capital — a city
  12. last — to go on
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pop — to visit
  15. season — of the year
  16. pop — music
  17. present — a gift
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — money
  22. present — there
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. last — final

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