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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. field — for sport
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — a company
  8. last — final
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — money
  13. firm — steady
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — a law
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. capital — a city
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — government
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bat — the animal

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