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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: deal · fork · capital · firm · press · staff · march · bat

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. march — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. firm — a company
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. staff — employees
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bat — the animal
  11. firm — decided
  12. press — a publisher
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. firm — steady
  16. march — the month
  17. press — to push
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. staff — a stick
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. staff — employees
  23. fork — in a road
  24. deal — an agreement

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