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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: bat · wound · key · toast · object · stand · cold · cell

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cold — not warm
  3. object — an aim
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — to protest
  24. wound — an injury

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