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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. file — a line of people
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — clever
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. file — a tool
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. board — to get on
  22. file — a document
  23. board — a committee
  24. sharp — with an edge

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