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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — thin
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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