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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. current — electric
  6. cell — in biology
  7. firm — a company
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — of water
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. firm — decided
  12. track — a path
  13. kid — child
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. track — to keep track
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. track — a song
  22. pound — a weight
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pound — for dogs

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