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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spring — of water
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. firm — decided
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. firm — a company
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bore — to drill
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bore — to tire
  15. land — to come down
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. land — ground
  22. spring — the season
  23. land — a country
  24. branch — a division

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