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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bat — the animal
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fine — all right
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. charge — a price
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cue — a signal
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. firm — a company
  19. charge — in control
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. firm — decided
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — rain

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