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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hand — help
  5. saw — the tool
  6. key — the most important part
  7. hand — in cards
  8. saw — the tool
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a line
  12. key — in music
  13. row — to paddle
  14. season — of the year
  15. firm — decided
  16. key — for a lock
  17. shower — rain
  18. firm — a company
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. season — in sport
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. firm — steady

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