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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: cold · firm · ball · stick · ground · cap · staff · capital

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — an illness
  6. staff — employees
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. capital — money
  9. cap — a lid
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. firm — a company
  12. ground — a position
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. staff — employees
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. ball — a dance
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ground — the earth
  21. firm — decided
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ball — a great time
  24. firm — steady

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