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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — a box
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — the animal
  7. current — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — steady
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. firm — a company
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. spring — of water
  15. kid — to tease
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — electric
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — of your body
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — a coil
  22. current — happening now
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. perch — the fish

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