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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bound — obliged
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — crushed
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. ground — the earth
  7. last — to go on
  8. firm — a company
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rest — a break
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. firm — steady
  15. branch — a division
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitch — completely
  18. firm — decided
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. last — final
  23. ground — a position
  24. pitch — a sports field

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