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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · fine · wind · firm · squash · cell

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. firm — steady
  9. capital — a city
  10. firm — a company
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. firm — decided
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — money
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fine — a penalty

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