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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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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: file · game · present · kick · capital · racket · firm · mate

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. capital — money
  3. present — there
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. firm — a company
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. kick — in football
  10. mate — a friend
  11. present — a gift
  12. game — a match
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. firm — decided
  16. present — the time now
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. mate — a partner
  21. file — a document
  22. mate — to breed
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. game — wild animals

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