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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — help
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. firm — steady
  10. rest — what's left
  11. firm — a company
  12. ground — a position
  13. cell — a phone
  14. file — a tool
  15. firm — decided
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. ground — the earth
  22. file — a line of people
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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