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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. firm — decided
  4. prune — to trim
  5. net — for catching
  6. chair — a leader
  7. net — after costs
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. dip — to sink
  18. firm — a company
  19. net — in sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chair — a professorship

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