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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. snap — to click
  4. ball — a dance
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — to paddle
  8. ball — a great time
  9. spring — the season
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. firm — a company
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. plane — a tool
  20. row — a line
  21. spring — of water
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. firm — decided
  24. spring — a coil

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