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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. firm — steady
  3. capital — money
  4. firm — a company
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. staff — a stick
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. firm — decided
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. staff — employees
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. field — farmland
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. staff — employees
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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