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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  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 — steady
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stock — goods
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. net — in sport
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. stock — shares
  8. net — after costs
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. net — for catching
  12. drill — army training
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — a company
  15. last — final
  16. drill — a practice
  17. last — to go on
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pound — a weight
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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