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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. present — the time now
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a line
  13. firm — decided
  14. ball — a great time
  15. present — a gift
  16. last — final
  17. present — there
  18. last — to go on
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. last — finally
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — the season
  24. ball — a dance

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