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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 · capital · bay · cold · rule · craft · can · chair

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. craft — boats
  6. firm — steady
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. craft — a skill
  9. can — a tin
  10. rule — a law
  11. firm — decided
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. chair — a leader
  18. capital — a city
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. capital — money
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cold — not warm
  24. firm — a company

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