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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. present — there
  11. rash — hasty
  12. game — wild animals
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stand — to bear
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cold — not warm
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. squash — the sport
  21. present — a gift
  22. squash — to crush
  23. present — the time now
  24. game — a match

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