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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kid — to tease
  5. object — an aim
  6. key — for a lock
  7. object — a thing
  8. firm — decided
  9. band — a music group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kid — child
  13. mine — for digging
  14. band — a ring
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. file — a tool
  18. object — to protest
  19. file — a document
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. firm — a company
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. key — in music

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