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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. race — humankind
  4. fork — in a road
  5. race — the arms race
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. firm — decided
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — a contest
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. degree — from a university
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. firm — a company
  24. hide — animal skin

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