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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. game — a match
  3. game — wild animals
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. firm — decided
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. sharp — clever
  17. firm — a company
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a ring
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. key — for a lock
  22. band — a music group
  23. chest — a box
  24. wind — moving air

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