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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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 — on your feet
  2. object — to protest
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stand — to bear
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chair — a leader
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. object — an aim
  13. swing — in golf
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. content — happy
  17. spring — a coil
  18. drill — the tool
  19. spring — the season
  20. drill — army training
  21. object — a thing
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. spring — of water
  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