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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stand — to bear
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fall — to drop
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ground — the earth
  10. scale — in music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — for sport
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. file — a tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. file — a document
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. band — a ring
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. court — of law
  22. band — a music group
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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