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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. court — of a king
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — to go on
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. last — final
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. last — finally
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. stand — to bear
  18. shower — rain
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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