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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. track — to keep track
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stand — to bear
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. swing — music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mine — for digging
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cold — an illness
  17. track — a song
  18. cold — not warm
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. track — a path
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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