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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — steady
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — help
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. hand — in cards
  11. firm — a company
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. vault — a safe
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. branch — a division
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — to turn a key

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