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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. file — a tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. mug — a cup
  5. court — of law
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. spring — the season
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mug — a face
  10. court — for sport
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. file — a document
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mug — to rob
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. racket — for tennis

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