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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. land — ground
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ground — a position
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. land — to come down
  13. lean — thin
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. rash — a series
  17. ground — the earth
  18. stand — to bear
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — boats
  22. land — a country
  23. ground — crushed
  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