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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. mug — a face
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stand — to bear
  15. capital — money
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — a city
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chair — a leader
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mug — a cup

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