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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bound — tied together
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rush — hurry
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stand — to bear

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