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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. spell — letters
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rest — a break
  5. firm — a company
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — magic
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. firm — steady
  11. squash — the sport
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hand — help
  18. rule — a law
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rule — government
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spell — a short time
  24. squash — to crush

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