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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. tube — the underground
  3. track — a path
  4. saw — the tool
  5. firm — steady
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — a container
  8. hand — help
  9. firm — a company
  10. ground — a position
  11. track — a song
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. kid — to tease
  14. track — to keep track
  15. kid — child
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. file — a document
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. ground — the earth
  24. file — a tool

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