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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. firm — a company
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — for dancing
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — decided
  9. press — a publisher
  10. club — for golf
  11. kick — in football
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a great time
  17. press — to push
  18. ball — a dance
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. press — newspapers
  21. object — to protest
  22. club — a group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. kick — a thrill

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