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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stock — shares
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. charge — electricity
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. charge — a price
  10. mug — a face
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. kick — in football
  13. charge — in control
  14. content — happy
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mug — to rob
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — the amount

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