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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. deal — to handle
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stem — to come from
  9. firm — a company
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. club — for golf
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — steady
  16. chest — a box
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. deal — an agreement

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