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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — an illness
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rule — government
  8. cold — not warm
  9. firm — steady
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. firm — decided
  14. capital — a city
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. rule — a law
  24. bear — the animal

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