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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. cold — an illness
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wake — a trail
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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