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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · capital · last · perch · chip · march · lash · board

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. last — final
  4. march — the month
  5. chip — for betting
  6. board — a committee
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pit — a hole
  11. board — to get on
  12. last — to go on
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pit — in a race
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. capital — money
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. capital — a city
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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