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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. hand — help
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. net — after costs
  12. mate — to breed
  13. net — for catching
  14. mate — a friend
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. net — in sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. mate — a partner
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. race — a contest
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. file — a tool

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