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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chair — a leader
  7. firm — steady
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mate — a friend
  11. firm — decided
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. last — finally
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. last — final
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. last — to go on
  24. capital — money

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