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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — wild animals
  6. file — a tool
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. file — a document
  9. firm — decided
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — to tease
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. spell — letters
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. firm — a company
  19. cell — in biology
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — child
  22. spell — a short time
  23. dip — to sink
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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