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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — to bear
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pit — in a race
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. capital — money
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — a big letter

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