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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pop — soda
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pop — music
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. season — in sport
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. firm — decided
  13. squash — the sport
  14. degree — temperature
  15. firm — a company
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. degree — from a university
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. season — of the year
  23. pop — to visit
  24. degree — an amount

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