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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: jam · hand · stand · season · wake · date · wind · bark

  1. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. hand — in cards
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wake — a trail
  12. season — of the year
  13. hand — help
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wind — moving air
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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