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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. firm — steady
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mine — for digging
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — a video
  10. track — to keep track
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — to cut
  19. firm — decided
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wound — an injury
  23. track — a path
  24. last — final

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