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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. cold — not warm
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stand — to bear
  5. ground — a position
  6. bank — for money
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. face — part of the head
  9. march — music
  10. stem — to come from
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. ground — crushed
  13. march — the month
  14. bank — of a river
  15. ground — the earth
  16. march — the month
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bank — for money
  20. face — to confront
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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