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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. firm — a company
  4. last — to go on
  5. key — in music
  6. content — the amount
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. last — final
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ball — a dance
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — finally
  20. firm — steady
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. key — the most important part
  24. ground — a position

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