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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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Word bank
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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. cell — a phone
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. snap — to click
  15. capital — a city
  16. rest — a break
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. board — a committee
  19. sharp — clever
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. rest — what's left
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. capital — money
  24. present — the time now

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