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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rush — hurry
  7. row — to paddle
  8. content — happy
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. content — the amount
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bound — certain
  19. clip — for paper
  20. squash — the sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. chair — a leader
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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