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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: spell · cold · stand · present · fall · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — the season
  6. present — there
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spell — letters
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spell — magic
  15. present — a gift
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — the time now

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