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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. firm — a company
  5. drill — army training
  6. firm — decided
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cold — an illness
  11. hand — help
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. mine — for digging
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mug — a cup
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mug — a face

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