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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. land — to come down
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — steady
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stock — shares
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. land — ground
  13. clip — for paper
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. land — a country
  18. stock — goods

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