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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — decided
  7. fall — to drop
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rock — a stone
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. shower — rain
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitch — completely
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bat — the animal

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