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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. content — the amount
  3. chair — a leader
  4. hand — help
  5. can — a tin
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. can — to be able to
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. content — happy
  15. firm — a company
  16. hand — in cards
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. firm — decided

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