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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: present · wake · capital · cell · firm · mark

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. present — the time now
  5. firm — decided
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — there
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — steady
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mark — a trace
  14. present — a gift
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — a city
  18. wake — before a funeral

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