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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — for paper
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — rain
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — to cut
  8. capital — a city
  9. firm — a company
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. land — to come down
  13. rush — hurry
  14. land — a country
  15. capital — money
  16. clip — a video
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. stock — goods
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — to wash
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. firm — steady
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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