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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pound — a weight
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. field — a subject
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wound — an injury

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