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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 120 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: land · fine · club · present · track · stand · cold · fall

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. track — a song
  3. present — there
  4. fine — all right
  5. club — for golf
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. club — for dancing
  15. fall — to drop
  16. track — a path
  17. present — the time now
  18. land — ground
  19. club — a group
  20. land — a country
  21. present — a gift
  22. stand — to bear
  23. land — to come down
  24. stand — on your feet

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