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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — an illness
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bulb — for light
  10. firm — a company
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cold — not warm
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. shower — rain
  24. lash — to lash out

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