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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: bat · game · chest · wake · firm · stand · cap · pop

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pop — soda
  3. firm — steady
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pop — music
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cap — a lid
  18. firm — a company
  19. cap — of ice
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. chest — a box
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. game — a match

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