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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — money
  12. cold — an illness
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — to handle
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. last — final
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. firm — steady

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