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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. field — a subject
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — farmland
  15. wind — moving air
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. sharp — clever
  19. field — for sport
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. cell — in a prison

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