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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — to bear
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — an injury
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cold — not warm
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. fall — the season
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. nail — on a finger

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