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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. drill — the tool
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cold — not warm
  11. drill — army training
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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