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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. mine — for digging
  6. club — a group
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. firm — decided
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rule — government
  16. shower — to wash
  17. roll — a list
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. roll — a cake
  20. capital — a city
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. rule — a law
  24. capital — money

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