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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · stick · kid · stand · season · wound · fall · bat

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — a friend
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — a partner
  14. season — of the year
  15. mate — to breed
  16. fall — the season
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. fall — to drop
  20. season — in sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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