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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fall — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — child
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stand — to bear
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — a country
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. saw — the tool
  24. fall — to drop

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