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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stand — to bear
  3. snap — to click
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rest — a break
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitch — completely
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. court — for sport
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fall — the season
  19. band — a ring
  20. court — of a king
  21. ball — a dance
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — of law

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