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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. cold — not warm
  3. squash — the sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lean — thin
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fine — all right
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. squash — to crush
  15. firm — steady
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fine — high quality
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. firm — a company
  24. pitch — completely

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