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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bat — the animal
  3. club — for dancing
  4. ball — a great time
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. date — the fruit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. current — electric
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. current — happening now
  11. game — a match
  12. club — for golf
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a dance
  15. club — a group
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. current — of water
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. game — a kind of play

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