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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. bass — the fish
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — electricity
  5. stand — to bear
  6. hand — help
  7. bank — for money
  8. charge — in control
  9. field — for sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. bank — for money
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. field — a subject
  19. rash — a series
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rash — hasty
  22. field — farmland
  23. bank — of a river
  24. tear — from crying

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