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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. date — the fruit
  3. stand — to bear
  4. game — a match
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spring — a coil
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. root — the cause
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. firm — steady
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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