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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: arm · cold · rock · stand · wind · capital · pass · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rock — music
  7. capital — a city
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. club — for golf
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. capital — money
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. club — for dancing

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