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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: chair · bat · squash · mine · tube · wake · kick · stand

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stand — to bear
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kick — in football
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. tube — a container
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wake — a trail

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