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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. firm — steady
  3. spell — letters
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. firm — a company
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. present — a gift
  14. firm — decided
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. spell — magic

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