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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stand — to bear
  5. pop — soda
  6. kick — in football
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. swing — in golf
  11. suit — to fit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cell — in biology
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. swing — to play on
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. suit — clothes

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