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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mine — for digging
  3. current — happening now
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. march — music
  6. capital — money
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — a city
  9. march — the month
  10. current — electric
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. firm — a company
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. firm — decided
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. shower — rain
  23. current — of water
  24. spell — magic

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