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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: mark · stand · craft · fall · cold · court · tear · race

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mark — a trace
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. court — of a king
  6. craft — boats
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stand — to bear
  11. race — humankind
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a grade
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. race — a contest
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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