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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tear — to rip
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pound — a weight
  12. firm — steady
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. staff — a stick
  15. firm — a company
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. staff — employees
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a line
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. staff — employees
  24. row — to paddle

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