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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.

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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hand — help
  5. stand — to bear
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — a trace
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. key — in music
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. capital — a city
  17. lean — to bend
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. key — the most important part
  21. lean — thin
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. key — for a lock
  24. capital — money

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