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

Word bank: toast · firm · race · bay · bat · cap · bowl · land

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. land — ground
  3. bat — the animal
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. toast — bread
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. cap — a lid
  19. firm — decided
  20. cap — a hat
  21. firm — a company
  22. land — to come down
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bat — in an idiom

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