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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bat — the animal
  4. object — to protest
  5. firm — a company
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rule — a law
  9. cell — in biology
  10. object — an aim
  11. rule — government
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. object — a thing
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. firm — decided
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. tear — to rip

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