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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. pit — a hole
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — letters
  7. band — a ring
  8. capital — a city
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. kid — child
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pit — in a race
  14. capital — money
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. band — a music group
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. stand — to bear

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