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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ball — a dance
  4. rash — a series
  5. game — a match
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. firm — a company
  8. capital — a city
  9. spring — a coil
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. spring — of water
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rash — hasty
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ball — a great time
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spring — the season

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