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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. land — ground
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kick — in football
  6. lie — to recline
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. sharp — clever
  11. land — to come down
  12. firm — steady
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. land — a country
  23. firm — a company
  24. lie — an untruth

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