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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — for catching
  3. cold — an illness
  4. board — a committee
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. board — to get on
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. last — to go on
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. net — in sport
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spell — magic
  18. net — after costs
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. last — finally
  21. cell — a phone
  22. spell — letters
  23. last — final
  24. spell — a short time

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