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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. stock — shares
  3. spring — the season
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. last — final
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. firm — a company
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — goods
  14. present — a gift
  15. ground — a position
  16. spring — of water
  17. present — there
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spring — a coil
  20. last — to go on
  21. firm — decided
  22. last — finally
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. present — the time now

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