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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. net — for catching
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. firm — steady
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. net — in sport
  14. firm — a company
  15. ground — the earth
  16. net — after costs
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spell — magic

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