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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: ground · stand · bank · lean · cold · safe · squash · game

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bank — for money
  5. game — a match
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bank — for money
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. ground — a position
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bank — of a river
  17. stand — to bear
  18. squash — the sport
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. ground — the earth

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