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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. firm — decided
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cue — for pool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. firm — a company
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. board — a committee
  17. capital — money
  18. firm — steady
  19. bat — the animal
  20. board — to get on
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. present — a gift

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