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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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 — steady
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. track — to keep track
  7. firm — a company
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mate — to breed
  13. track — a path
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fork — in a road
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. firm — decided
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bear — the animal
  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