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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — a box
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. firm — steady
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. rule — government
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — to cut
  13. board — to get on
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. firm — a company
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pound — a weight
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. board — a committee

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