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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — final
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. press — a publisher
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. hand — help
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. press — newspapers
  12. ground — crushed
  13. last — finally
  14. ground — a position
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pound — a weight
  17. lean — thin
  18. last — to go on
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — a company
  21. ground — the earth
  22. firm — steady
  23. press — to push
  24. hand — in cards

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