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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 124 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. content — happy
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. firm — a company
  12. wake — a trail
  13. content — the amount
  14. kid — to tease
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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