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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. firm — a company
  3. ground — crushed
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. firm — steady
  6. chair — a leader
  7. game — wild animals
  8. season — of the year
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. firm — decided
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. season — in sport
  17. game — a match
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. capital — money
  23. ground — a position
  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