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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fall — the season
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — in sport
  7. capital — money
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. firm — decided
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cell — in biology
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. firm — a company
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. net — for catching
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. net — after costs

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