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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fine — high quality
  5. content — happy
  6. fine — all right
  7. object — a thing
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. content — the amount
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. object — an aim
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. object — to protest
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cold — an illness

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