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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. foot — a measure
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kick — in football
  6. march — music
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stand — to bear
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. game — a match
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. scale — size or range
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. kick — with a leg

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