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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. date — the fruit
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mine — for digging
  11. roll — a cake
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ball — a dance
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ball — a great time
  19. roll — a list
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. foot — a measure
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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