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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. band — a ring
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — a grade
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. roll — a cake
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. firm — a company
  10. band — a music group
  11. firm — decided
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. roll — a list
  14. vault — a safe
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chip — to eat
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. chip — for betting

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