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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: rest · chair · hand · firm · key · capital · rush · swing

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chair — a leader
  3. key — in music
  4. firm — a company
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rest — a break
  8. hand — in cards
  9. firm — decided
  10. capital — a city
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — help
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. key — the most important part
  15. rest — what's left
  16. swing — in golf
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. key — for a lock
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — music

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