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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. court — for sport
  3. mug — a face
  4. court — of a king
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bound — certain
  9. firm — steady
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. firm — decided
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mug — a cup
  19. firm — a company
  20. wound — an injury
  21. court — of law
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitcher — a jug

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