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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. march — music
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pitch — completely
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. squash — the vegetable

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