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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — an illness
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spell — a short time
  7. chest — of your body
  8. content — the amount
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spell — magic
  13. firm — a company
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. last — to go on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. firm — decided
  19. last — final
  20. chest — a box
  21. last — finally
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. spell — letters

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