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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. firm — decided
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — final
  7. firm — steady
  8. date — the fruit
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — the amount
  12. last — finally
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. firm — a company
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. ground — the earth
  19. saw — the tool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — happy
  23. game — a match
  24. band — a ring

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