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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 116 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. can — a tin
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. can — a tin
  9. bound — certain
  10. cold — an illness
  11. can — to be able to
  12. firm — a company
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bound — tied together
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. row — a line
  21. firm — decided
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cold — not warm

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