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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hand — help
  3. cold — not warm
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. firm — steady
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. key — the most important part
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. key — in music
  10. row — a line
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. key — for a lock
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. court — of a king
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. cold — an illness
  20. firm — a company
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hand — in cards
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cold — the Cold War

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