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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — letters
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tube — a container
  11. firm — a company
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chest — a box
  19. firm — steady
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. spell — magic
  24. squash — to crush

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