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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. capital — a city
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — for sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. firm — a company
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. court — of a king
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. court — of law
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. club — for golf
  20. capital — money
  21. club — for dancing
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pound — a weight
  24. club — a group

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