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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. net — after costs
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. content — happy
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. content — the amount
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. saw — the tool

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