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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. band — a music group
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rule — a law
  9. spell — a short time
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spell — magic
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spell — letters
  17. band — a ring
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rule — government
  20. firm — decided
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rule — to rule out

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