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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: firm · clip · pit · roll · temple · cold · stand · capital

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. firm — steady
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. roll — a cake
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. clip — to cut
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cold — not warm
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cold — an illness
  17. firm — decided
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. capital — money
  20. roll — a list
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. firm — a company
  23. stand — to bear
  24. capital — a city

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