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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. capital — money
  3. firm — steady
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. ball — a great time
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. pit — in a race
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — the amount
  16. perch — the fish
  17. firm — a company
  18. capital — a city
  19. board — a committee
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. content — happy
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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