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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. last — final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mine — for digging
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — decided
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. ground — the earth
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. present — a gift
  20. net — after costs
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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