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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — thin
  5. firm — decided
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — not warm
  13. lean — to bend
  14. mine — for digging
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. cap — a hat
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cap — of ice
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. firm — a company
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bore — to tire

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