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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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Word bank
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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: wound · cell · nail · ground · fine · firm · capital · pass

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. firm — a company
  5. ground — a position
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ground — crushed
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fine — high quality
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cell — a phone
  12. firm — decided
  13. pass — a permit
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — money
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. fine — all right
  19. firm — steady
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. capital — a city
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pass — to spend time

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