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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. capital — money
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. shower — to wash
  7. key — for a lock
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. capital — a city
  12. chair — a leader
  13. shower — rain
  14. firm — decided
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spring — the season
  18. firm — a company
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. last — final
  21. roll — a list
  22. key — in music
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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