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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. firm — steady
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — a weight
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — not warm
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. firm — a company
  10. capital — money
  11. court — for sport
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. last — final
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. last — to go on
  21. court — of law
  22. firm — decided
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. court — of a king

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