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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — government
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bear — the animal
  9. firm — decided
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. firm — steady
  13. file — a document
  14. firm — a company
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rule — a law
  18. last — to go on
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — child
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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