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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. present — a gift
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. last — finally
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. present — the time now
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. foot — a measure
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — to go on
  20. branch — a division
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — to confront
  23. last — final
  24. face — to point toward

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