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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — temperature
  4. firm — a company
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. last — to go on
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bark — to shout
  18. last — final
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. firm — decided
  23. last — finally
  24. plane — an aircraft

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