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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. hand — help
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. firm — decided
  8. scale — size or range
  9. firm — a company
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rule — government
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rule — a law
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. scale — in music
  19. kid — child
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — completely
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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