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

Word bank: last · stick · bark · firm · fall · foot · cold · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. firm — decided
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. last — final
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — a measure
  18. fall — the season
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bark — to shout
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. last — finally
  24. bat — the animal

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