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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — a city
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. firm — steady
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. court — of law
  9. firm — a company
  10. court — of a king
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. roll — a cake
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. court — for sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. firm — decided
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chair — a leader
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mate — a partner
  23. kid — to tease
  24. roll — a list

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