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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. season — in sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. tube — the underground
  5. firm — decided
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. content — happy
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. squash — to crush
  12. tube — a container
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — not warm
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fine — all right
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. firm — a company
  21. season — of the year
  22. fine — high quality
  23. game — wild animals
  24. squash — the sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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