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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. firm — decided
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. firm — steady
  6. spring — a coil
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. sharp — clever
  9. last — to go on
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. firm — a company
  12. rash — hasty
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — finally
  18. rash — a series
  19. spring — the season
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — final
  24. bark — to shout

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