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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. staff — a stick
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — crushed
  6. content — the amount
  7. staff — employees
  8. ground — a position
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. last — finally
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. content — happy
  17. bank — of a river
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — final
  20. stand — to bear
  21. staff — employees
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cold — the Cold War

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