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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. drill — a practice
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. firm — a company
  7. last — to go on
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. lean — thin
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of law
  15. last — finally
  16. cell — in biology
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lean — to bend
  22. last — final
  23. firm — decided
  24. row — a quarrel

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