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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rule — government
  4. stand — to bear
  5. club — for golf
  6. season — in sport
  7. pop — music
  8. race — humankind
  9. pop — soda
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. club — a group
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. season — of the year
  14. race — a contest
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rule — a law
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — an injury
  21. race — the arms race
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pop — to visit

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