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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. land — to come down
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. scale — size or range
  8. swing — music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. land — a country
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fine — all right
  15. drill — the tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — army training
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rash — a series
  21. land — ground
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — in music
  24. stand — to bear

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