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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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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — a company
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. last — finally
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. march — music
  15. fork — in a road
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. firm — decided
  18. fork — a garden tool

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