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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: capital · club · chest · craft · mouse · toast · firm · spring

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. firm — steady
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. club — a group
  5. craft — boats
  6. chest — of your body
  7. capital — money
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. firm — decided
  10. craft — a skill
  11. firm — a company
  12. club — for dancing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — the season
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — bread
  22. chest — a box
  23. club — for golf
  24. toast — the most admired

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