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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. firm — a company
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — the month
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wake — a trail

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