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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pit — a hole
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — in biology
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pit — in a race
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cell — a phone
  17. ball — a great time
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mate — to breed
  24. prune — to trim

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