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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — a company
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. firm — decided
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a match
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. clip — to cut
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. game — wild animals
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. clip — a video

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