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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. bound — certain
  7. band — a ring
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bound — tied together
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. court — for sport
  20. bound — obliged
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. fall — to drop
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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