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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. net — in sport
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. net — for catching
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. capital — a city
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. capital — money
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. net — after costs

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