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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. row — a line
  5. stand — to bear
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — not warm
  8. tear — from crying
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. tear — from crying
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — a gift
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mark — a grade
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tear — to rip
  24. present — there

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