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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. present — a gift
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stand — to bear
  7. march — music
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cell — in biology
  12. present — the time now
  13. march — the month
  14. present — there
  15. band — a ring
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — a phone
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. band — a music group
  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