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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — finally
  3. spell — magic
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. last — final
  7. charge — electricity
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. charge — a price
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. charge — in control
  21. spell — a short time
  22. firm — a company
  23. spell — letters
  24. firm — steady

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