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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. firm — decided
  4. cold — an illness
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. firm — steady
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mine — for digging
  10. root — of a word
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to click
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. firm — a company
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. game — a match
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — the cause
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. game — wild animals
  24. root — of a plant

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