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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: chair · nail · degree · band · bear · firm · capital · kid

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. band — a ring
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. firm — a company
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. band — a music group
  14. firm — steady
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. bear — the animal
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kid — child

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