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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. court — of law
  6. last — final
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bat — the animal
  9. court — of a king
  10. bulb — for light
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — a thing
  15. cold — an illness
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. court — for sport
  19. object — an aim
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — to protest
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bulb — for light

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