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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a leader
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ball — a dance
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. field — farmland
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mouse — the animal

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