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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. firm — steady
  3. club — for golf
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. press — newspapers
  7. firm — a company
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — for dancing
  10. firm — decided
  11. press — a publisher
  12. scale — in music
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. press — to push
  16. cold — not warm
  17. file — a tool
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. stand — to bear
  23. club — a group
  24. stand — on your feet

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