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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — for paper
  5. key — in music
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. prune — to trim
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — to crush

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