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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mate — a partner
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cell — in biology
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a friend
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mate — to breed
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise

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