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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wound — an injury
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wound — an injury
  7. firm — decided
  8. chip — for betting
  9. band — a ring
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. perch — the fish
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. band — a music group
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bat — the animal
  24. firm — a company

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