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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. scale — size or range
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — steady
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. squash — to crush
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — to trim
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — to rip
  20. firm — decided
  21. tear — from crying
  22. scale — in music
  23. date — the fruit
  24. kid — to tease

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