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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pop — soda
  3. content — happy
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — a tool
  11. content — the amount
  12. rock — music
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — decided
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. degree — temperature
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. rock — a stone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. degree — from a university
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pop — music
  24. perch — the fish

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