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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — an illness
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. pop — soda
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. lean — thin
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lean — to bend
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — a trace
  24. tube — in a tire

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