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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. degree — an amount
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. last — final
  8. bark — to shout
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. toast — bread
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. content — happy
  18. degree — from a university
  19. firm — steady
  20. content — the amount
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. firm — a company
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. last — finally

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