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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. firm — a company
  5. clip — for paper
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. drill — a practice
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. drill — the tool
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. firm — steady
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. ground — a position
  24. field — for sport

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