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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. content — happy
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. clip — for paper
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. content — the amount
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. squash — the sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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