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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a city
  3. firm — a company
  4. pop — to visit
  5. game — a match
  6. pop — soda
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pop — music
  9. hand — help
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — steady
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. hand — in cards

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