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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. board — a committee
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lean — to bend
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. clip — to cut
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — an illness
  13. board — to get on
  14. bank — of a river
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lean — thin
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bank — for money
  21. stand — to bear
  22. clip — a video
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bank — for money

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