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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 120 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. tube — a container
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stand — to bear
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chip — in a computer

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