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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. kid — to tease
  3. track — a song
  4. kid — child
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bass — low music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — a path
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. staff — employees
  16. bass — the fish
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. staff — a stick

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