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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. snap — to click
  4. season — in sport
  5. face — part of the head
  6. land — to come down
  7. track — a path
  8. firm — a company
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. track — a song
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. season — of the year
  13. cue — a hint
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. face — to point toward
  16. land — ground
  17. firm — steady
  18. face — to confront
  19. cue — for pool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cue — a signal
  23. land — a country
  24. track — to keep track

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