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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · pit · firm · board · straw · roll · wound · spell

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. wound — an injury
  3. roll — a list
  4. board — a committee
  5. land — ground
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pit — a hole
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. board — to get on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pit — in a race
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. firm — decided
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. roll — a cake
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — letters
  23. firm — a company
  24. spell — magic

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