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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. march — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. march — the month
  11. board — a committee
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — an illness
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. board — to get on
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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