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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bound — obliged
  3. firm — a company
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bound — certain
  7. craft — boats
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. present — there
  14. rash — hasty
  15. firm — decided
  16. craft — a skill
  17. file — a document
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rash — a series
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bat — the animal
  24. trunk — of a car

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