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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — a line
  7. chest — a box
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chest — of your body
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stand — to bear
  24. race — humankind

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