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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 120 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — for catching
  4. fine — all right
  5. net — in sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. firm — a company
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fine — high quality
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. firm — steady
  17. cell — in biology
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. branch — a division
  21. tear — to rip
  22. net — after costs
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. branch — of a tree

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