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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chair — a leader
  5. charge — electricity
  6. game — a match
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — the season
  10. charge — a price
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. charge — in control
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. game — wild animals
  18. content — happy
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. content — the amount

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