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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. ground — the earth
  6. firm — decided
  7. plane — a tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a line of people
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ground — a position
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wake — a trail
  16. firm — a company
  17. spring — the season
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ground — crushed
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. spring — of water

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