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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spell — magic
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pit — a hole
  5. ground — a position
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. firm — a company
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. spell — letters
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pit — in a race
  14. shower — to wash
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. firm — decided
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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