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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · pit · cold · bowl · rest · stand

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pit — in a race
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pit — a hole
  9. stand — to bear
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stand — for spectators

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