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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — steady
  3. cold — not warm
  4. net — after costs
  5. scale — in music
  6. net — in sport
  7. bore — to drill
  8. drill — a practice
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — army training
  14. fall — the season
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. drill — the tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. firm — decided
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bore — to tire
  24. net — for catching

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