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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. spell — letters
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. land — to come down
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — to bear
  12. land — ground
  13. spell — a short time
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. land — a country
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mug — a cup
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — to rob
  23. content — the amount
  24. spell — magic

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