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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. land — a country
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. land — ground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. land — to come down
  20. charge — electricity
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hand — help
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — a big deal

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