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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. spell — magic
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. spell — letters
  10. firm — a company
  11. shower — to wash
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — to tease
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. key — the most important part
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spell — a short time
  19. firm — decided
  20. key — for a lock
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. key — in music

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