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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wake — a trail
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. firm — a company
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. swing — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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