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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. march — the month
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. ground — the earth
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. march — music
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. march — the month
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chip — for betting
  20. stand — to bear
  21. chip — to eat
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. ground — a position

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