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

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. game — a match
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stand — to bear
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. game — a kind of play

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