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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 116 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. club — for golf
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — a practice
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. capital — money
  13. land — a country
  14. drill — the tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. drill — army training
  17. fork — in a road
  18. season — of the year
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. land — ground
  23. club — a group
  24. land — to come down

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