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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. court — of law
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pass — a permit
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — final
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. cue — for pool
  14. last — finally
  15. chest — of your body
  16. capital — money
  17. cue — a signal
  18. chest — a box
  19. court — of a king
  20. last — to go on
  21. capital — a city
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. court — for sport
  24. stand — for spectators

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