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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — money
  8. pit — a hole
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. capital — a city
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pit — in a race
  23. stand — to bear
  24. sharp — exactly

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