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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. content — happy
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fall — the season
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. shower — to wash
  11. last — finally
  12. present — the time now
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. content — the amount
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — decided
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. last — final
  20. present — a gift
  21. last — to go on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. present — there
  24. shower — rain

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