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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. craft — boats
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kick — in football
  6. season — of the year
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — an illness
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — to play on
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stand — to bear
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. swing — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — money
  20. season — in sport
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — a line
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stand — for spectators

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