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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. stand — to bear
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. spring — of water
  5. drill — army training
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. file — a tool
  12. bass — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — the tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. file — a document
  23. chip — for betting
  24. spring — a coil

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