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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. clip — to cut
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. land — to come down
  10. firm — a company
  11. pop — to visit
  12. content — happy
  13. object — a thing
  14. clip — a video
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — an aim
  18. firm — decided
  19. pop — soda
  20. land — a country
  21. content — the amount
  22. lean — thin
  23. pop — music
  24. object — to protest

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