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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cold — not warm
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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