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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — army training
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — from crying
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. firm — a company
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rash — a series
  16. drill — the tool
  17. firm — decided
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rash — hasty
  24. squash — the sport

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