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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. craft — a handicraft
  4. roll — a cake
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. firm — steady
  7. craft — a skill
  8. roll — a list
  9. last — finally
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. band — a music group
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. band — a ring
  14. craft — boats
  15. last — to go on
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. firm — a company
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rule — government
  24. last — final

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