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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. stand — to bear
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chair — a leader
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. drill — the tool
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. drill — army training
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cold — an illness

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