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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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. season — of the year
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ball — a great time
  10. firm — steady
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a city
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. swing — in golf
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. firm — decided
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. swing — to play on
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — not warm

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