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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rock — a stone
  3. net — for catching
  4. firm — a company
  5. cell — in biology
  6. roll — a cake
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spring — of water
  11. rock — music
  12. stock — goods
  13. roll — a list
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. net — after costs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. firm — decided
  22. net — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — a phone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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