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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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. pop — music
  4. sharp — clever
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pop — to visit
  13. craft — boats
  14. pop — soda
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. scale — in music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. craft — a skill

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