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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. firm — steady
  4. kid — child
  5. track — to keep track
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bat — the animal
  8. track — a path
  9. spring — the season
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. spring — a coil
  12. firm — a company
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. last — final
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. last — to go on
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spring — of water
  22. last — finally
  23. kid — to tease
  24. track — a song

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