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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. squash — to crush
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. stand — to bear
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mine — for digging
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. racket — for tennis

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