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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. field — for sport
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rash — a series
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cue — for pool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cue — a hint
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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