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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. chest — of your body
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mate — a partner
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. game — a match
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rule — government
  14. chest — a box
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. swing — in golf
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. swing — music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. rule — a law
  23. mate — to breed
  24. game — wild animals

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