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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. band — a music group
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a hole
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. pit — in a race
  15. firm — decided
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — to come from
  20. march — music
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rash — a series
  23. vault — a safe
  24. firm — a company

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