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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. club — for golf
  8. firm — a company
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. fine — all right
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. firm — steady
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. perch — the fish
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fine — high quality

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