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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — steady
  3. lean — thin
  4. band — a ring
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. key — in music
  9. content — happy
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. court — for sport
  14. firm — a company
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — a contest
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. key — the most important part
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lean — to bend
  23. key — for a lock
  24. band — a music group

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