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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: plane · wake · object · cold · squash · land · stand · kick

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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. land — a country
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — ground
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. object — an aim
  10. wake — a trail
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. object — a thing
  13. kick — in football
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. land — to come down
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. object — to protest
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kick — a thrill

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