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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. chest — of your body
  3. charge — a price
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. track — to keep track
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. track — a path
  11. content — the amount
  12. charge — electricity
  13. content — happy
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. craft — boats
  18. bat — the animal
  19. track — a song
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. charge — in control
  24. craft — a skill

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