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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. game — a match
  3. fork — in a road
  4. last — to go on
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. last — finally
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. game — wild animals
  16. last — final
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — to tease

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