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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a music group
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ball — a great time
  10. stand — to bear
  11. chair — a leader
  12. band — a ring
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. board — to get on
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. board — a committee
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hide — animal skin

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