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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. club — a group
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ground — a position
  16. spring — the season
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. firm — decided
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. firm — a company
  24. ground — crushed

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