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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. fine — all right
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. firm — steady
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ground — a position
  8. bat — the animal
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — high quality
  17. firm — decided
  18. straw — dry grass

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