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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 need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. deal — to handle
  3. last — final
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — wild animals
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. last — to go on
  9. firm — a company
  10. degree — an amount
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. game — a match
  13. pass — a permit
  14. current — electric
  15. hand — help
  16. firm — decided
  17. current — of water
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. hand — in cards
  20. last — finally
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. current — happening now
  24. degree — temperature

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