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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. lean — thin
  4. field — for sport
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. field — farmland
  8. lean — to bend
  9. firm — steady
  10. cell — a phone
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. craft — a skill
  16. sharp — clever
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. field — a subject
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cell — in biology
  21. craft — boats
  22. fall — the season
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lean — to rest against

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