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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. present — there
  3. present — the time now
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. swing — music
  6. stand — to bear
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. shower — rain
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rock — music
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. present — a gift
  18. cold — not warm

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