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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 120 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: tear · firm · capital · stand · swing · court · mine · present

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mine — for digging
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. swing — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. present — the time now
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. present — there
  19. firm — decided
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. present — a gift
  24. court — of law

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