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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fall — the season
  6. face — to confront
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. can — to be able to
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. court — of law
  11. mark — a grade
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — a tin
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. court — for sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. can — a tin
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — of a king
  23. club — a group
  24. fall — to drop

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