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

Word bank: stand · cabinet · wind · race · bat · fall

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. fall — to drop
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fall — the season
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stand — to bear
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air

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