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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. ground — a position
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wind — moving air
  8. firm — decided
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a line
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stand — to bear
  21. dip — to sink
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. firm — a company

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