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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. file — a document
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chair — a leader
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. firm — a company
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pound — a weight
  18. firm — decided
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. file — a tool

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