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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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Word bank
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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: cold · cabinet · lean · bat · stand · fan · ground · drill

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. lean — thin
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bat — the animal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lean — to bend
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. drill — army training
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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