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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bear — the animal
  13. spell — magic
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — letters
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — after costs

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