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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: stand · cell · pit · game · fall · fork · straw · bat

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. game — a match
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fork — in a road
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. game — wild animals
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fall — the season
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. fall — to drop

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