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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — for digging
  4. net — for catching
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. file — a document
  11. net — in sport
  12. race — humankind
  13. stand — to bear
  14. race — the arms race
  15. net — after costs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cabinet — ministers

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