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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rest — what's left
  8. firm — steady
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — a match
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pop — soda
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pop — to visit
  24. capital — a big letter

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