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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. capital — a city
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. firm — a company
  7. land — a country
  8. spell — a short time
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — money
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. drill — the tool
  13. firm — decided
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. spell — magic
  16. squash — the sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. drill — a practice
  21. land — to come down
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spell — letters
  24. drill — army training

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