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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitch — completely
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. prune — to trim
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. net — after costs
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. prune — to trim

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