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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. net — for catching
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rest — a break
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spell — magic
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — after costs
  12. spell — a short time
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. rest — what's left
  16. firm — steady
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. firm — a company
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. spell — letters
  21. stem — to come from
  22. net — in sport
  23. content — happy
  24. stem — of a plant

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