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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stand — to bear
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. can — to be able to
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. ball — a great time
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. season — of the year
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — music
  18. game — a match
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. season — in sport
  24. game — wild animals

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