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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. firm — a company
  5. kick — in football
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. fine — all right
  13. court — of law
  14. firm — decided
  15. court — for sport
  16. cell — in biology
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — of a king
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cell — a phone

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