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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. net — after costs
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. capital — money
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. march — the month
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. ground — a position
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a city
  15. net — in sport
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. game — a match
  20. ground — crushed
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — music
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. net — for catching

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