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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. mark — a trace
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. firm — decided
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. last — finally
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — final
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mark — a grade
  19. last — to go on
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. firm — a company
  22. ground — crushed
  23. firm — steady
  24. cell — in biology

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