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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. capital — money
  3. pit — in a race
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — to rip
  9. march — music
  10. game — a match
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — from crying
  13. firm — decided
  14. race — a contest
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. firm — a company
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — the month
  24. pit — a hole

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