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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. firm — steady
  3. capital — money
  4. suit — clothes
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — child
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — to go on
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. firm — decided
  14. capital — a city
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cell — in biology
  17. last — final
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fall — the season
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fall — to drop
  23. firm — a company
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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