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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. land — ground
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. key — the most important part
  5. land — to come down
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — for a lock
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — not warm
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stand — to bear
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. land — a country
  19. key — in music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. swing — music
  24. chest — of your body

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