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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stand — to bear
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. hand — help
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — moving air
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stand — on your feet

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