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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — the month
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. content — the amount
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — not warm
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. march — music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. cell — a phone

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