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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. object — a thing
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. season — in sport
  5. game — a match
  6. stand — to bear
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — to protest
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — finally
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. season — of the year
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — moving air

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