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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. last — final
  3. object — a thing
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cold — not warm
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. staff — employees
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. staff — a stick
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cold — an illness
  20. object — to protest
  21. hand — help
  22. staff — employees
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. hand — part of the body

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