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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: last · clip · racket · stand · wind · firm · capital · ball

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. clip — to cut
  5. last — final
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — a company
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. firm — steady
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. ball — a great time
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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