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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — for golf
  7. march — the month
  8. snap — to click
  9. club — a group
  10. firm — a company
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. march — music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. firm — decided
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — the month
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — an illness
  24. nail — on a finger

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