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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. staff — employees
  3. row — a line
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. staff — a stick
  7. scale — size or range
  8. firm — a company
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. content — the amount
  13. field — for sport
  14. firm — steady
  15. row — to paddle
  16. staff — employees
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. field — a subject
  19. scale — in music
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pass — a permit
  23. content — happy
  24. field — farmland

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