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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — help
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. firm — decided
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. prune — to trim
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. chip — to eat
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rash — a series
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. firm — a company
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rash — hasty
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. band — a ring
  23. chip — for betting
  24. band — a music group

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