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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. firm — steady
  3. chest — of your body
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — boats
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — a skill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. firm — a company
  20. firm — decided
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — the season

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