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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 124 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. charge — in control
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. bulb — for light
  22. charge — a price
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — child

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