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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ball — a great time
  4. club — for dancing
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. club — a group
  15. lean — thin
  16. club — for golf
  17. file — a tool
  18. ball — a round shape

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