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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. band — a ring
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — to shout
  8. object — to protest
  9. track — a song
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. object — an aim
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. firm — decided
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. band — a music group
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. object — a thing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. track — a path
  24. firm — a company

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