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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — to bear
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ground — a position
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cell — in biology
  14. band — a music group
  15. land — to come down
  16. band — a ring
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ground — the earth
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cell — a phone

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