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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. spring — of water
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. present — there
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chair — a leader
  9. spring — a coil
  10. present — the time now
  11. spring — the season
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. ground — a position
  15. hand — in cards
  16. present — a gift
  17. capital — a city
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. rush — hurry
  22. capital — money
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ground — the earth

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