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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · chest · firm · spell · stand · game · capital · tear

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. firm — a company
  3. season — of the year
  4. firm — decided
  5. game — a match
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — to rip
  8. firm — steady
  9. game — wild animals
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. chest — of your body
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spell — letters
  15. capital — money
  16. stand — to bear
  17. season — in sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. capital — a city

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